Green light for farm environment campaign
A major industry-led campaign to protect and enhance farmland across the eastern region is finally under way.
Farmers and landowners joined forces with conservationists to launch the long-awaited Campaign for the Farmed Environment on NFU president Peter Kendall’s Bedfordshire farm on Thursday (5 November).
The voluntary campaign is aimed at fending off the threat of a compulsory set-aside replacement which could take up to 5% of arable land out of production, especially in the key eastern region counties.
It aims to extend and enhance the environmental benefits provided by set-aside and existing stewardship schemes in three key areas of farmland birds, farm wildlife and protecting soil and water.
NFU regional director Pamela Forbes said farmers across East Anglia would be urged to join the campaign. Steering groups in each county would bring tailored advice and guidance to farmers and land managers.
“It’s our chance to demonstrate that productive farming and care for the environment do go hand in hand. A successful result will also avoid the threat of a regulatory approach which will bring far more red tape and expense for everyone.”
Beacon farms
A network of beacon farms will demonstrate the campaign working in practice, showing how choosing the right land management practices in the right places can make a major difference to the environment.
Nicola Currie, regional director for the Country Land and Business Association, said described the campaign as a win for wildlife. It brought together food and environmental security and would help to moderate bureaucracy.
Farmers are being encouraged to use voluntary measures and environmental stewardship to create important wildlife habitats for wildlife and farmland birds, while protecting important resources such as soil and water resources.
Nationally, farmers are also being asked to retain 179,000ha of uncropped land across England and improve the management of at least one third of this land to support habitats for birds, insects and mammals.
The government has warned that it retains the right to introduce compulsory environmental measures unless significant progress is made towards meeting these targets within three years.
Information packs will be sent out to 40,000 arable farmers in the New Year, setting out the voluntary options available and allowing growers to record which options they have adopted on farm.
Recommended measures available include establishing skylark plots, planting wild bird seed mixtures, leaving grass buffers alongside temporary and permanent water courses and putting in beetle banks.
The campaign is being backed by Natural England and the RSPB. Both organisations will be offering help and advice to farmers on easy-to-implement measures that will benefit farmland birds.
Paul Woodcock, regional director for the Environment Agency, said soil and water were vital components of long term sustainable agriculture. “This campaign is an opportunity for farmers and land owners to improve their role as stewards of the countryside.”
